Parkfield’s Manis Daberera assesses the damage after being bowled by Narre Warren’s Chris Jarrett on Saturday.Picture: Stewart Chambers.
By Paul Pickering and Marc McGowan
THE bowlers thrived in muggy conditions as the Dandenong District Cricket Association’s (DDCA) round four fixtures got under way on Saturday, with many pacemen managing to extract some life out of their first-day pitches.
St Mary’s, Parkville, Keysborough and Cranbourne all succumbed for sub-160 totals, while North Dandenong and Springvale South scrapped their way past the 200 mark.
On Sunday, the DDCA’s young talent was on display in the first round of the Neil Wright under 21 Inter-Associations competition at Grant Reserve in Altona. St Mary’s all-rounder Jake Needham stole the show, making 64 and claiming 6/27 in the DDCA’s 80-run win over the Victorian Turf Cricket Association (North) squad.
St Mary’s v Buckley Ridges
Buckley Ridges skipper Shane D’Rozario may have been ruing his decision to send St Mary’s in as his opposite number Scott Atkinson (13) and Troy Cashman (72) notched up a half-century partnership on Saturday morning.
But, after an unsuccessful new-ball assault, D’Rozario took matters into his own hands, injecting himself into the attack to have Atkinson stumped with the score at 53.
While Cashman held up one end, a succession of partners fell around him to prematurely expose the St Mary’s tail.
Westley Nicholas, however, was the chief destroyer for Buckley Ridges, recording the astonishing figures of 6/21 from 21 overs to condemn the Saints to a meagre total of 133. In Buckley Ridges’ reply of 0/54, young wicketkeeper-batsman Daniel Watson streaked to 42 as partner Paul Rudd (6 not out) stonewalled his way to stumps at the other end.
Narre Warren v Parkfield
Parkfield’s batsmen never really got going against Narre Warren at Sweeney Reserve on Saturday as the depth of the Magpies’ bowling stocks again shone through.
Opener Brad Houghton (56) was the only Bears batsman to look comfortable, with the likes of Dave Wheeler (3/44), Chris Jarrett (2/14), Shane Simpson (2/19) and Dwayne Scott (2/29) maintaining an impeccable line and length throughout the day.
Houghton was joined by Daniel Ferguson at 6/83, and the pair combined for a promising partnership of 49 runs before falling to Wheeler in quick succession.
From there, the Bears crashed to be all out for 144.
Magpies openers Wendell Perumal and Mathew Darvell managed to negotiate an awkward spell of 11 overs before stumps on day one, steering their side to 0/23.
Coomoora v Keysborough
Brimming with confidence after an outright defeat of St Mary’s the previous round, Keysborough elected to bat against cross-town rival Coomoora on Saturday.
But Paul McDonald’s charges had slumped to 4/42 when the skipper joined Nalin Wijesinghe at the crease.
While McDonald fell for 17 to the bowling of Jamie Saleem (2/37), Wijesinghe (59 not out) carried on to add some respectability to Keysborough’s total.
Meanwhile, Coomoora paceman Rizan Mawzoon (4/49) shouldered much of the bowling workload, recording his best figures for the season as Keysborough tumbled to be all out for 155.
And while the Roos didn’t have it all their way in response, a steady knock from Dirk Solomans (32 not out) guided them to 2/66 at day’s end.Springvale South v Dandenong West
Having accounted for Dandenong West in a high-scoring mid-week Twenty20 clash, Springvale South would have been salivating at the prospect of batting first in the extended format on Saturday.
Indeed, skipper Craig Slocombe (56) wasted little time in feasting on the Bulls’ bowling attack, dominating an opening partnership of 56 with Steve Masterson (5).
When Slocombe became Alan Campbell’s (4/27) first scalp, all-rounder Danny Law (4/27) took over for the reigning premiers.
Law’s pace partner Nick Bole-Brown arrived later to stake his own claim at the all-rounder title, making another handy 38 to pad Springvale South’s total out to 210 with the help of Damien Simmons (22).
For the Bulls, Glen Scales (3/68) was also dangerous with the ball.
Bole-Brown (1/7) and Law (1/8) again combined well to have Dandenong West struggling at 2/19 at stumps.
Doveton v North Dandenong
Doveton and North Dandenong are locked in a dogfight after day one of their contest at Robinson Reserve on Saturday.
A balanced bowling performance by the Doves prevented the maroon and blacks from posting a commanding total.
Nathan Wilson (2/30) and Ryan McMurray (2/29) restricted North Dandenong to 3/49, but Shane Leonard (36) and captain Adrian Baltruschaitis (44) produced an innings-saving 69-run alliance.
Kevin Leonard (29) and David Bell (25) also contributed as North Dandenong managed 9/204.
However, it is a far from intimidating run chase for Doveton, which also received great service from Ryan Hendy (3/52) and captain-coach Glen Lothian (2/43).
